Next Great Save: Where are they now?

Did you follow the Next Great Save Competition? Over nineteen days, twelve finalists captivated us with passionate pleas, inspired entertainment, and amusing entreaties, all while sharing their stories of remarkable heritage saves. They competed for the $50,000 grand prize, decided by popular vote. Organized by the National Trust for Canada and sponsored by Ecclesiastical Insurance, the competition ended on an inspiring note on May 6, 2024.

As the proverbial dust settled over the competition, we had a chance to catch up with some of the Next Great Save finalists to reflect on their voting campaigns and what they have been up to since. Suffice it to say, these dedicated heritage groups aren’t slowing down in their mission to conserve their heritage treasures.

Our Lady of Mercy Heritage Church, Port au Port West, NL

As the $50,000 grand prize winner of the Next Great Save competition, the group at the Our Lady of Mercy Heritage Church got right to work repairing the church. Phase One is underway and involves replacing any weathered wooden clapboard to weatherproof the exterior of the church. Phase Two is to paint the church to preserve the structure with fresh white primer and then paint.

When asked about their experience during the competition, they answered:

“We generated a level of interest we were elated to see….it broadened our sense of community and made us realize that the community that supports us is much broader than the geography of our region. We found people that had moved away, generations ago that still had that affinity for the area. New people who had never contacted us before, reached out to tell us what a beautiful heritage church we had” says Joanne Rose, Vice-Chair of the Our Lady of Mercy Complex Committee.

As to their success during the competition, Rose added “It’s like all Newfoundlanders want to come home you know? So all Newfoundlanders, no matter where they were in the world, they were voting for us.”

LaSalle Theatre, Kirkland Lake, ON

As second place winner with $10,000, the LaSalle Theatre wasn’t sure their prize money would cover their necessary roof repairs. But as Michael Rawley, Managing Artistic Director of theatre explains “I have to say that nothing but good has come out of our participation in the Next Great Save. The competition brought our community together in a way that I never thought possible. Saving a theatre and its building in a small Northern gold mining community is, what some might say, a fruitless endeavour. Up until the contest, I thought nobody in the community cared about the LaSalle Theatre. Boy, was I wrong. This community came together in a way that was moving and touching and humbling and nothing short of incredible.”

In the few months since the competition, the theatre has gained new donors and grants and now has enough money to not only get the roof repairs done, but also plan for the replastering work needed inside the theatre.

“Folks in town are now coming to the theatre more than before the contest” continues Rawley. “It feels like we have been validated after 11 years of very hard work. Before the competition, believe it or not, folks would ask when the theatre will be reopening and we had been open for 11 years already. Now, everybody knows we are there and open and not going anywhere but up.”

Nanton Grain Elevators, Nanton, AB

The Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre (CGEDC) came in third place, winning $5,000 for the Nanton Grain Elevators, three historic wooden grain elevators built between 1927-1929.

From their Elevator Cat mascots to their striking video set to Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, warning of the precarious status of Grain Elevators across the country, the Nanton Grain Elevators caught the attention of voter’s country wide. As Leo Weiser, President of the CGEDC emphasized, this attention is only the beginning: “Historic sites are a long-term investment in one’s cultural past. Every participant in the contest was worthy of funding and all were in desperate need.  My call to anyone listening is ‘do not forget about us… for once a place is SAVED, then the real work to sustain them begins’.”

The CGED has been hard at work on their Rail Lands Rehabilitation Project, which will incorporate the critical connection of the Canadian Rail system to the Grain Elevators. They are also initiating fundraising campaigns to restore the Alberta Wheat Pool twin elevators and office, and their Balloon Annex Building which will be repurposed as a museum, gallery and guest center.

“These two projects together will represent over $1.2 million in fundraising efforts, a herculean task for a small volunteer board of seven people. But we have been doing great things, and I believe with this work and our music and theatre programs as well as our small museum, we can continue to move things forward. We can only preserve this site through use and investment.  We want as many people as possible to experience us.”

Greenly Island Houses – Blanc-Sablon, QC

As an uninhabited island in the middle of the Gulf of the Saint Lawrence, the team vying to restore the lightkeeper houses were able to draw on heartstrings and garner a lot of votes during the Next Great Save competition. Christelle Shepherd visited the island recently and shares the above photos of her trip.

A group of concerned citizens are working hard on the next steps for their project: securing funding to install a wharf on the island, writing a strategic plan for their project and getting an architectural report evaluating the conditions of the houses and what will be required to restore them. All of these steps require funding and tremendous dedication.

With the community’s support and ongoing efforts, they hope to see the lightkeeper houses restored, preserving a piece of maritime history and creating a unique destination including high-end guest accommodations for future generations to experience and cherish. The journey ahead is challenging, but the team’s commitment and the island’s historical significance continue to inspire everyone involved.

Mon Keang – Vancouver, BC

Mon Keang School, located in Vancouver’s Chinatown, opened in 1925 as a Cantonese language school during the Chinese Exclusion Act and in a period of extreme anti-Chinese racism in Canada. In their words, “the school uses cultural language learning to anchor family relationships, strengthen community bonds, and build the local economy of Chinatown.”

After a century of serving their community, the Wong Benevolent Association (the founding organization of Mon Keang School), entered the Next Great Save competition to provide their building with some much-needed restorations with the aim of maintaining their school in its original building.

During the competition, the group provided tours of the Mon Keang School’s building with Chinatown Today, the Chinese Canadian Museum and the Chinese Canadian Historical Society. Wong Benevolent Association also dove into their archives to share photos and videos of social events from decades past on their social media channels while encouraging their followers to vote.

Since the end of the Next Great Save competition, Mon Keang School has garnered greater national recognition through a National Historic Designation by Parks Canada on May 31, 2024.

Old St. Thomas Church – Moose Factory, ON

“If you google Paris, images of the Eiffel Tower will show up. … If you google Moose Factory, St. Thomas church will show up. It’s iconic. … In a time when we are tearing down statues and monuments, this community has chosen to uphold this building, this historic church, because of what it stands for. It’s in remembrance of our heritage, our past, the good things and the bad things and things that we say we will never, ever forget” (Norm Wesley, Emeritus Chair, St. Thomas Restoration Committee; former Chief of Moose Cree First Nation).

The St. Thomas Church was entered into the Next Great Save competition by the Moose River Heritage and Hospitality Association (MRHHA) as part of their major initiative to commemorate “More than 350 Years in the Making: Moose Factory in Omushkego Aski, From Time Immemorial to 1673, to 2023.”

Through their campaign, it became clear just how special St. Thomas Church is in the hearts of many, including World renowned Classical Guitarist Liona Boyd. In a video reflecting on her performance in Moose Factory back in 1988 she said, “I performed a concert for a Cree audience in the beautiful Old St. Thomas Church, a heritage wooden building with special acoustics. Although it was 35 years ago it was a moving experience I’ll never forget.”

Looking forward, MRHHA’s mission to restore St. Thomas is advancing, with the launch of a new fundraising campaign, with greater support from their community and beyond, strengthened by their participation in the Next Great Save.

St. John’s Centre for the Arts – Arichat, NS

The St. John’s Centre for the Arts is a cultural hub for the community in the Isle Madame region and leveraged their artistic connections during the Next Great Save competition to bring awareness to preserving the 19th century historic church (deconsecrated in 2014) that the centre operates out of. This included a performance by the local band Eastbound who according to Jason Langdon, chair of the Friends of St. John’s Arichat society, “integrated the acoustics of the building so well, that St. John’s architect William Critchlow Harris, would have been proud if he had the chance to hear their music ringing in his built work.”

The end of the Next Great Save was not the end of the Friends of St. John’s Arichat’s momentum to preserve the St. John’s Centre for the Arts. The organization has been hard at work organizing community and cultural events, and since June, St. John’s Centre for the Arts has hosted concerts, Art Shows and theatre performances that have brought further awareness and fund-raising to the site.

“Overall, things are looking great over here in Arichat! While we didn’t place in the Next Great Save, the experience was well worth it!”

Welland Central Fire Station – Welland, ON

The group at the Welland Central Fire Station has been working hard for the last three decades to save and transform the station into a publicly accessible heritage building. Participating in the Next Great Save competition has given their ongoing campaign added support.

“Since participating in National Trust’s Next Great Save Contest,” says Nora Reid, a Cultural Heritage Professional living in Welland “The Central Station Education Initiative has received increased publicity and support from the community.  We received increased acknowledgement from various historical groups and our Facebook following has increased tremendously. This bodes well for future fundraising initiatives for our volunteer-led, not-for-profit group.  It was a great honour for us to be selected as one of twelve historical places across Canada.  Thank you!”

The organization recently received a grant of over $26,000 from a public foundation serving the people of Niagara. This grant will fund interior plaster repair on the staircases, a new metal basement door, accessible washroom fixtures, blinds throughout the building, a laptop computer and printer and three display cases for the main floor Firefighting Heritage Display.

With these advancements, the CSEI is closer than ever to making the Central Fire Station a vibrant part of the community, celebrating its rich history and ensuring its legacy for future generations.